Our View: Access to information allows better decisions

It's good news that New Bedford and its teachers have a contract and that there's enough money in the budget to pay for it. The mayor, superintendent, City Council and School Committee appear to be on the same page where getting resources to students and teachers is concerned.

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southcoasttoday.com

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Posted Dec. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Posted Dec. 5, 2012 at 12:01 AM

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It's good news that New Bedford and its teachers have a contract and that there's enough money in the budget to pay for it. The mayor, superintendent, City Council and School Committee appear to be on the same page where getting resources to students and teachers is concerned.

Some on the Council, however, are kicking up a bit of dust over the short notice they had before being asked to vote on funding teachers' raises.

Monday night, the council voted unanimously to direct $1.9 million in state education aid toward funding teacher raises negotiated in the contract ratified in October.

According to the mayor's office, a negotiated, ratified contract still couldn't have been executed if it hadn't been funded. The mayor also said that the contract funding needed to be squared away before the tax classification vote took place later in the meeting.

Ward 5 Councilor Jane Gonsalves has a couple of beefs with the mayor, including the short notice for councilors. Gonsalves correctly notes that the council's ability to exercise its fiduciary responsibility when it doesn't have timely access to information.

It's unfortunate the council didn't have more time to consider the mayor's funding recommendation. The unusual source of the money conspired with other circumstances to create the short-notice vote.

The contract funding comes after a reassessment of the city's census of low-income students, correcting an initial undercount by about 800 students. The state, working on the corrected census, increased education aid to the city by $2.4 million, but only came up with the number last week.

Besides funding the contract's raises, money will also go toward repairs for a summertime fire at Carney Academy, also following a unanimous vote by the council on Monday.

Both issues were pressing: a current contract, and a damaged school.

It appears things ought to work out for the city and the teachers in this case. It isn't hard to imagine, though, how valuable extra time for discussion, investigation or hearings would be for any number of issues the council has to consider. Better decisions can be made, and bad decisions can be prevented.

We appreciate the challenges the mayor's office faced in getting through the commonwealth's budget bureaucracy and appropriating the money in time.

We expect, despite Gonsalves' dissatisfaction with the short notice the council had this time, that the parties will cooperate in good faith through all their business.

The mayor's office and the City Council have already managed to make some real gains, especially for New Bedford's students.

Greater cooperation will bring better results, even when challenges arise.